Packard spent his teens and twenties working on experimental shorts while supporting himself variously as a movie theater usher, security specialist and wrist-watch salesman.
His first notable effort was Dawn of an Evil Millennium (1988) which he partly produced as a 30-minute short for a film class and featured Miles O'Keeffe in small role.
[citation needed] After struggling for years to complete films out of pocket, living in cars and tents, Packard received a large inheritance when a relative died.
His Reflections spoof of a young Steven Spielberg, a director he claimed to admire, was matched by his later assault on George Lucas in Packard's film The Untitled Star Wars Mockumentary (2003).
He is known for his sharp and highly pessimistic view of the movie business, often commenting on how directors have no control of their work and that artistic vision is sacrificed for profit.
In 2011, Packard began work on his long-gestating feature Foxfur, about a young girl involved with aliens from the Billy Meier contacts.